Shops in 2 Dutch cities start selling legally grown cannabis in an experiment to regulate pot trade
A paradox at the heart of the Netherlands’ permissive pot policy has gone up in smoke in two Dutch cities as “coffeeshops” began selling the country’s first legally cultivated cannabis
BREDA, Netherlands — A paradox at the heart of the Netherlands' permissive pot policy went up in smoke Friday in two Dutch cities as “coffeeshops” began selling the country's first legally cultivated cannabis as part of an experiment to regulate the trade.
The experiment could mark the beginning of the end for a long-standing legal anomaly — you can buy and sell small amounts of weed without fear of prosecution in the Netherlands, but growing it commercially remains illegal.
“This is really a very, very big step in the right direction,” Derrick Bergman, chairman of the Union for the Abolition of Cannabis Prohibition, said as he sat in the De Baron cannabis cafe in the southern Dutch city of Breda.
Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers visited earlier to launch the new policy. The plan for the experiment dates back to 2017 and is seen as as a way of providing “quality-controlled" weed to coffeeshops — places that are allowed to sell marijuana — and shutting out illegal growers.
“By regulating the sale of cannabis, we have a better insight into the origin of the products and the quality,” Kuipers said. “In addition, we can better inform consumers about the effects and health risks of cannabis use.”
Bart Vollenberg, who grows cannabis for the experiment, called it a “happy day for the Netherlands.”
«The most significant advantage is that it is not criminal activity, and it becomes transparent,» he said. «You can test the weed in the laboratory. With all the knowledge and skills of Dutch horticulture, we can start improving the quality of the
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